What to do with Old Flannel

You may be wondering where to buy flannel shirts online now or you may already have bought some in the past but there comes a time in the exciting life of every flannel shirt when it has to be finally retired from active duty. That day when even your best quality heavy duty flannel shirt is showing it’s age and starting to wear a bit thin on the elbows for example. So now you want to know what to do with old flannel shirts.

You must make the difficult decision to cast it aside like last years fashions.. but you’ve been through so much together, you and your favourite flannel and you just don’t want to see it dispatched to the dumpster yet. So what can you do? Is there life in the old dog yet?

Well the good news is that YES there is life after death for flannel shirts!

The simple solution is to use them to make something else. The possibilities are in fact pretty much endless. Just take a good pair of scissors and cut the flannel into squares, the bigger the better (depending on what you plan to make of course) making sure the squares consist of the good bits from the shirt, not those worn through elbows or the edge with the button holes! The squares (or other shapes if you have something special in mind) should then be sewn together to make something new, as you’d expect.

If you only have one shirt to cut up then that narrows down your options somewhat and you can only make something fairly small but that doesn’t mean it wont be something cool. For example you could make a very trendy hat – a flannel cloth cap which would certainly turn heads and attract admiring attention. You could also make a bag, perfect for the “grunge” aficionado in the family, the shirt sleeves could be used to make the strap perhaps. You could also make toys for kids or pets – a ball with flannel on the outside and flannel stuffed inside to make for something that wont cause injury or break windows when thrown around the house. Teddy bears or other weird looking creatures could be easily put together as well. Or how about a nice pair of flannel socks or slippers? Perhaps even a trendy looking scarf? Or something more down to earth – a draft excluder for the foot of the door!

Upholstery is another possible use – got any old chairs that could do with a new fabric cover for the padded parts?

If you’ve got lots of shirts to cut up or have been collecting the squares for a while and now have loads of material ready for use then you can really go to town! Make some great patchwork quilt covers or sheets, pillow or cushion covers, upholster larger items of furniture, some fancy curtains for the kids room, dust covers for whatever you want to keep the dust off, cool costumes for parties, towels and cloths, a cover for the back seat of the car to keep it clean when the dog is there or mud covered kids! A blanket for picnics or the beach..

Those flannel shirts you buy today or bought in the past can live on again and continue to pay back on your wise investment for years to come as well as giving you something fun to do on the cold winter nights!

Looking for new flannel shirts? Then click here for the best selection.